Yellow Bird
by Wildflower Honey
Summary: Faye just moved in next door to Tony DiNozzo. She's pretty, young, alluring, secretive. Is it possible this girl could be just what he needs? But what about her past and his? Tony/OC pairing. Warning: rated M for adult themes; language, violence, and assault/abuse.
1. Chapter 1

Hi all, so this is my first ever story posting here. I don't really have much to say other that I hope you enjoy and it's rated M for a reason; language, violence. So, if you don't like that kind of thing or you're easliy offended by it don't read! The heavier stuff will come later.

.:. 1 .:.

Faye knelt on her balcony, scooping up fallen flower petals before more fell on her neighbor's car below. The car hadn't left it's cozy space since she moved in two weeks ago and her black, 1965 Ford Fairlane was beginning to look like a boat next to the silver Camaro. She admired her father's classic car as she often did, it's silver accent details glowing hot and bright in the summer sun. If one touched the chrome at that moment it would singe. She was fortunate to have been able to hold on to the car after her father died despite the many attempts that her mother made to sell it. The pair had moved to D.C. when her mom told her they were broke and were moving to live with a man she had only known for a little over a month and had met on the Internet. It was sketchy, but the things her mother did always were. It wasn't the first time her mother had gotten into a relationship for the money. However, drugs were the usual reason.

Gregg was nice, though. He was an older gentleman who lost his daughter to cancer decades ago. Time had begun to warp his mind and he occasionally called Faye by his daughter's name, Gracie, but otherwise he was sharp as a tack. Just that morning Faye had gently explained again that she was not Gracie; showing him the photo of Gregg and Gracie that always sat next to his recliner, his features showed recognizance and then sadness. It hurt her to hurt him whether it was her fault or not. She contemplated simply playing along next time.

* * *

><p>Anthony DiNozzo felt a pang of dread as the cab pulled up outside his complex. Why couldn't vacations last longer or at least go by slower? It was just like a nice vacation to fly by in the blink of an eye, only allowing for a little taste of the high life before it was time to pack up and head back home. His Camaro was still sitting safe by the walkway leading to his condo and it seemed she'd made a friend with a black classic. 'Nice,' Tony thought as he admired the car and pulled his bags from the trunk of the cab. As much as he loved his new car, he missed his old one. As he walked to his door he frowned at the flower petals sticking to his baby's pristine, silver paint and looked up towards the source.<p>

He saw a redheaded girl in a flowing summer dress, tip her beer bottle long neck down and swigged the last sip of the ale. "And you say I'm always breaking the law." her mom's snide voice rang out behind her. Where was Gregg, Tony wondered.

"It's one beer, Mother."

"Actually, it's my one beer and you're only twenty." Her mom tilted her jaw up in triumph. "Don't say mother like that. Like it's a bad thing. Do I have to remind you that I pushed that huge head of your's out me all by myself with no help from you? Or that I fed you and took care of you? Or that you're twenty and I'm still fucking taking care of your worthless ass!" Her voice rose with anger and resentment toward her daughter. "Twenty years old! No education, no man, no job." Tony cringed at the altercation. He remembered a few words he and his father exchanged when he was younger. He remembered being the one most often on the receiving end. He wanted to walk into his apartment, out of earshot, but he couldn't. So, instead pretended to rummage for something in his car.

Faye felt her anger rise, tried swallowing it down, but failed, "You were a terrible mother. How about all the times I had to sit up with you at night to make sure you didn't choke on your own vomit after you passed out from a pint of vodka? Or all of your horrible boyfriends I've had to endure, or gone with out food because we had no money in the bank?"

"Oh shut your trap," The woman barked at her daughter.

"Maybe, Mom, just maybe I'd be getting an education if you hadn't blown all our money on coke. If you hadn't forced me to pick up and start over _again_, I'd still have a job. And maybe I'd have an apartment of my own if I didn't come home to my room torn apart and hundreds of dollars of mine missing. Do you think I want to live here? You think I'm stupid, but I know you're using again, Mom."

Tony was frozen. Whew, did all redheads have fiery personalities? He'd have to ask Gibbs; he should know. The girl had moved to the rail of the balcony and was facing in his general direction. He didn't want to be caught eavesdropping. Like that the girl's mother had vanished into the apartment and reappeared, charging out of the downstairs exit with something in her hand. She flung up the windshield wiper of the classic car and slammed it back down over a for sale sign. Tony winced in sympathy for the car. It didn't take long for the barefooted redhead to reappear as well and rip the sign away.

"My. Car." Faye said through gritted teeth. She was so mad it was almost too difficult to squeeze them out. "We are n-not selling Daddy's car. You may want to forget he ever existed because you're a bitch, but he was the best you ever had and you'll never have anything so good ever again."

The sound of flesh hitting flesh silenced everything. Faye's eyes watered as her cheek screamed from the contact. "Is there a problem here?" Tony stepped in looking very commanding.

The two women stared at him for a moment before the girl looked down and the older woman smiled a menacing smile. "Just my daughter being a disrespectful little bitch." The women turned to the girl who was now holding back tears of embarrassment. Her cheek glowed red as a white hand print started to form. "Get the hell upstairs."

Faye felt like a little girl again. In times like these she knew it was easier to resign herself to the fact that she was stuck there and to make the best of it. She gladly ran upstairs, shutting the door to her room and hiding under her ratty comforter that she'd had since she was fourteen. She sobbed the afternoon away and fell asleep for a few hours with out eating dinner, emotionally exhausted.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, Tony accounted the events of the afternoon. He hoped the beautiful, young woman was safe. He felt his need to help kicking in again, but he was was hurting too and being home felt a lot like work. Selfishly, he didn't want to get involved. He had enough on his plate. The girl wasn't a child. She could take care of herself.<p>

It had been a lazy afternoon. He hoped the remaining three days of his vacation would be just as quiet. He sat around. He didn't bother unpacking. He wouldn't be having company tonight and even he if was, he probably wouldn't bother anyway. At seven he checked his work email just to feel like he was in the loop. Gibbs must have given orders not to include him on case emails. He read a few protocol emails he had been included on. Tony then checked his personal email. Mostly spam, but one email from a frat brother that simply read: "Where you been?". Seriously? Had his social life gone downhill this much since Jeanne? She hadn't even been part of his inner circle and no one knew the identity, just that a woman was making Tony a very happy man. The spam emails were from bots trying to get him to join a dating site for "sexy Latinos" and two telling him he won a free pizza. The mere mention of pizza was enough to merit the ordering of a large, meatlovers pizza – extra cheese, extra meatlovers – from the pizza place across town. Seven-thirty came fast and it was time to go get dinner from Courthouse Pizza. The little joint's sign depicted the scales of justice, atop which was pizza. A courthouse stood down the road. The smell of bubbling cheese and sausage rushed at him as he opened the door. 'Justice...' Tony thought.

"Tony!" the owner's voice bellowed.

"Hey, Mick." Tony said flatly. He wasn't in the mood for pleasantries.

"Long time no see. What've you been up to? You didn't find a better pizza shop 'round here, did you?"

"Nah, nah." Tony furrowed his brow and shook his head. "I was just on a little vacation."

"Good. You work too hard, kid. Take it from somebody who's barely worked a day in his life, other than throwin' an order of fried pickles in the fryer now and then and toppin' pizzas all day of course; slow the hell down. Find a sweet little girl and put a ring on 'er finger. Annie and I – twenty years tomorrow and she's still as pretty as the day we met. Closin' the place early tomorrow, just so ya know. "See," Mick leaned in and glanced behind him toward the office where his wife spent most of her time. "I'm takin' her out to this real fancy restaurant and I got her a real diamond ring this time. Couldn't afford one back when we first met. Did I ever tell you how we met?"

"You did. Thanks for the advice. Is my pizza ready?" Mick sighed and nodded. He got the feeling the girl he used to come in here with wasn't around anymore so he didn't take the younger man's abruptness personally. Poor kid was on top of the world last year.

* * *

><p>Why did everyone want to give him advice? First Ziva, then Gibbs, even McGee, bartenders, and now the guy at the local pizza joint. He was dealing with everything in his own way. Ducky would call it self-medicating. Tony topped off his rum and coke, grabbed the pizza, a roll of paper towels, and headed outside to eat. He couldn't sit inside his stuffy condo anymore, and the dusky, summer evening fit his mood all the same. He didn't like it here anymore. He wished he'd grabbed the real estate booklet on his way out of Courthouse Pizza.<p>

The redhead was sitting on the hood of her car smoking a cigarette and drinking a beer when he sat down in the plastic lawn chair on the patio. She glanced in his direction very briefly and then returned to her own thoughts. He considered offering her a piece of pizza, but he wanted to eat alone. Finally, deciding it would be a nice thing to do he waited to get her attention and then waved her over. She reluctantly stood up and stamped out her cigarette on the fencepost.

"Yes?" Faye questioned standing just far enough away to feel safe.

"Want a slice? Extra cheese and meat."

The girl smiled a weakly. "No thanks, I'm a vegetarian."

Tony scoffed, "Mmm, tofu and lettuce. Exciting."

"You know, In Japan it's actually just as common for non-vegetarians to eat tofu as it is vegetarians."

"It is, is it?"

"Yeah," the girl swung her beer bottle back and forth slightly and played with the hem of her t-shirt. "I'm sorry about all that earlier. Hopefully we didn't disturb you. My name's Faye by the way. We – my Mom and I just moved in with the guy next door."

"It's fine. Are you alright? I see your cheek bruised. Damn it," Tony mumbled as all the cheese slid off his slice. When he looked back up she hadn't replied and was repositioning her long hair so it covered her bad cheek. Tony felt bad for pointing it out. "My name's Tony," He said quietly. He looked at her for a moment and then asked, "Faye, huh?"

Faye nodded and finished her beer, "After Faye Dunaway. My Mother went through a brief 'Bonnie and Clyde' phase just before she had me." Tony polished off his rum and coke and smiled, thoroughly enjoying how she was named.

"Want one?" he asked holding his glass up. "Wait, how old are you?"

Faye looked at him sheepishly for a moment and then replied that she was almost twenty-one. Tony stood there contemplating. "Eh," he said. "You're already drinking. If anyone asks, you told me you were twenty-one." Tony pointed his finger at her and she smiled. He disappeared into the apartment and Faye stayed put, not sure if she should follow. "Do you want ice?" He yelled. She took it as her cue to follow and slowly wandered inside. The place was dimly lit by his computer screen and a single light in the kitchen. It smelled manly; like sandalwood and amber. She liked it.

"Ice is fine." She discretely tried to check out the rest of his living area before the drinks were ready. A red leather sofa sat in front of a big screen TV. A wall of DVDs and even video cassette tapes boasted an impressive collection of movies. Coffee mugs and a shot glass, magazines and a bag of chips sat on the coffee table, the remote on the floor. The badge sitting among all the other items caught her eye. She quickly looked away. The place definitely lacked a woman's touch. "What did you do to that plant? Torture it?" she teased as she gestured toward the remains of a potted plant; maybe a fern.

Tony glanced at the now brown plant in the corner. Ducky had given it to him. 'Sorry, Ducky,' he thought. "It came that way,"he joked at first and then said, "I don't know what kind it is let alone how to take care of it."

"Well, there's no telling what it is now."

"Heh, funny." Tony said sarcastically. "Seeing that your flowers are the ones dying and leaving petals on my beautiful car; I'd say you're no better at gardening than me."

Faye looked down, feeling as though she had overstepped her boundaries. She shouldn't have come inside. No man ever let her get away with remarks or actions like that. She gulped slightly, a fear response, as he stepped to her. "Here," He smiled and handed her the drink, catching her off guard.

Her confidence slightly restored, "Actually it's perfectly normal for them the lose petals. The flowers die off, but the plant is still alive and growing more buds." she uttered. "I'm sorry about your car though," she caught herself. "I tried to stay ahead of them, but the breeze blows them off."

"No biggie," he motioned her outside. He offered her the chair, but she declined the offer and instead said she would sit on the lawn. He watched her settle into the grass, realizing she felt safest closer to the earth. Faye fidgeted with the umbrella in her drink while Tony chowed down on another slice of pizza.

"Where you away?" Faye broke the silence.

Tony looked up from his dinner at the girl. Her drink was almost gone. He smiled at her, sitting with her twig legs tucked underneath her and twirling the mini umbrella between two fingers. "Yup, I was on vacation in Miami."

"I lived in Miami for a little while when I was younger." She stared into her drink. Tony just nodded. Feeling she had already overstayed her welcome, she gulped the rest of her drink and stood up stating that she should get home. He gave her a simple smile and they said good-bye. He watched her wander back to Gregg's condo, picking a flower petal off his car as she walked by, briefly looking back at him to see him give her a smile.


	2. Chapter 2

**.:. 2 .:.**

"An older man, huh? Gonna take a page out of your Mama's book? You'll have to give him something he wants. Accepting an offer for drinks won't satisfy him for long. You'll have to learn how to make conversation and be pleasant too. I know a sweet, little trick I could teach you that'll have any man pleading for more."

Faye leaned against the counter and slid her hands into her back pocket. "Is that what you call mother-daughter bonding?"

Her mother shrugged her shoulders. "Well then, maybe I'll go for him. Gregg's money is good, but he has problems giving me when a need in the sack," she sniffed.

"He seems too good for you. Just like Gregg." Faye pulled another beer from the fridge.

"Don't you dare open that." Her mother's lips pursed. "I swear, if you drink any more of my beer, you'll regret it."

Faye just shrugged and grabbed the bottle opener. The beer fizzed when she opened it and her mother smacked her lips at the sound. "What's that?" Faye asked while nodding at an opened package on the kitchen floor.

"A package that I had to sign for earlier this week when your male friend was away." Faye's eyes widened.

"You opened it? You opened it!" Faye shook her head as she rushed over to the package.

"They're just shoes. But! Guess what." Her mother didn't pause for her to guess and she instead launched into her plan to keep them and give them to Gregg for his birthday, stating the two men had the same shoe size.

"I can't believe you. He's going to figure it out. This is really bad Mom. I think he's a cop. I saw a badge on his table, next to his keys." Her mother looked as though her fate had been sealed. "There's still time to go give them back and tell him it was a mistake. I'm going over there right now," she said, setting her beer on the counter top and grabbed the box.

"No. I won't let you." The middle-aged woman looked scared.

"I'm going, Mom. Let me take care of it." As she started for the door Faye heard the beer bottle smash against the kitchen counter. "You're high out of your mind, Mom. I'm trying to protect you. Just let me protect you like I always do."

"You listen to me you disgraceful little cunt, if you leave this house I will hurt you."

"Mom, I know he let me have a drink, but if he is a cop and he finds this out I know you'll be in trouble."

"No. No, no. You fucking bitch. Put it down. Put it down, now." By this time her mother's tone had progressed to screaming and she was holding the beer bottle by the neck, jagged edges waving in the air.

"Shut up, Mom." Worried her mother's yelling would attract the attention of the entire complex she took the broken bottle from her.

Her mother ran to the bathroom, locking the door behind her. Immediately though, the lock clicked again and the door opened, the woman poking her head out just long enough to say, "You are a worthless cunt. No man could love you. You're all scarred up and ugly."

The door closed once again and Faye went to her room and dropped the box to the floor next to her bed. Those words cut deep. She stood staring at the shoes for a while. She walked through her room to the adjoining bathroom, undressed, and ran to grab a bottle of Jack from under her bed. Returning to the bathroom and locking the door, she took three good swigs of the amber liquid and turned the shower on. Stepping in she let the scalding water pelt her skin. She sobbed and let herself sink to the floor.

She stayed there for a very long time until she couldn't bear it any longer. She scrubbed at her stomach, still sobbing, wishing she could scrub it away. The scars were barely visible with the water blinding her, but she knew as soon as she stepped out and wiped the steam from the mirror, she would see the thick white lines begin to form letters. And those letters would spell a word.

She could still feel what it felt like to have the knife shred through the layers of flesh. She was sobbing even harder now, tugging at her skin as she scrubbed away at it. Sometimes they still felt new. Her tears mingled with the water as she recalled being held down by the her older boyfriend and his his friend. She was so confused then. Too drunk too much of the time, too young – only sixteen and sleeping with any man that would have her. That night was the biggest mistake of her life. She remembered doing shots at the party with another man and stumbling to the bathroom with him. The thing she remembered about him the most was his shoulder length black hair. They fucked and when her boyfriend found out he enlisted his friend to hold her down as he carved the word 'whore' into her stomach. She remembered screaming his name and begging and pleading and crying, gasping for air as the pain overtook her. She tried to connect with him to make him see what he was doing, but she failed to do so.

It certainly wasn't a clear memory. She only ever saw it in horrific fragments. She remembered her boyfriend, who had professed his love for her only a few days before, laughing while both he and his friend assaulted her physically and sexually before she passed out on the bed. She woke up hours later, naked from the waist down. The blood had dried and her shirt which had been pulled down again was stuck to the wound.

She let out a quiet scream as the water pump kicked in causing a new rush of scalding water to hit her skin. It flared.

She remembered slipping her skirt back on and stumbling to find her mother. She was gone. She would be for a week. Her heavy breath was sounding in her ears. She remembered peeling the shirt away, sobbing, biting on a towel and screaming into it so the neighbors wouldn't hear her. She remembered kicking over the liquor bottle on the bathroom floor next to her before passing out again.

Faye couldn't scrub any longer. She would never feel fully clean. She stood for a moment, staring at her twisted stomach. She could never take her eyes off the 'o' which a bit jaggedly wound it's way around her bellybutton. The two men had laughed that it was a nice touch. She didn't bother to dry herself or dress. She wanted someone to know, to understand her pain. How it ate away at her and paralyzed her. Naked and beaten down she held the bottle of whiskey close and walked to her bed. She wrapped her drenched self in the comforter and drank until she was blinded.

* * *

><p>Faye awoke to unmentionable sounds coming from her mother's and Gregg's room. Between the moaning and grunting and between all the crying and drinking she had done the previous night it was too much. She felt physically ill. She decided to take the chance to return the opened package to Tony. She fluffed her curls and put on a little mascara and coral lipstick. Still naked, she threw on a light, summer dress and a pair of wedges. Her room was hot as she bent to pick up the shoes and place them as carefully back into the box as possible. As she stood up the room whirled around her, steadying herself on her bed, she was reminded how long it had been since she had an actual meal.<p>

Pushing through, she ran down the stairs and out the door to Tony's neighboring condo. She rang the bell once and then knocked after there was no answer. She had almost given up when the door opened, revealing a half asleep and very disheveled Tony. He looked as though he had about as much alcohol the night before as she had and was wrapped in a sheet which barely hid his morning stiffness. Faye looked away.

"Yes?" Tony sounded slightly annoyed and a bit embarrassed.

"I'm really, really sorry," Faye closed her eyes and put her hand on her forehead. "Umm, I thought you would be awake. Since it's ten. But you're on vacation, huh?" She stopped herself. "This belongs to you. My Mother opened it by accident." She thrust the package toward him, still looking away. He took it from her, awkwardly balancing it in one arm while still holding the sheet with his other hand.

"Thank you," he said sounding confused.

"I'm really sorry."

"It's okay." Faye nodded an okay in response and scampered off.

Tony bit his lip and sighed as he watched her run off, the hem of her very short dress revealing just enough to be very tantalizing. She was very cute. A little young, but nothing he hadn't been with before. The door was closed and Tony, realizing the package contained his new shoes went to take a shower and get dressed. He decided Faye would be his next conquest. Miami had been uneventful in the love department. He purposely spent the week alone, holed up in the hotel only going out on the beach in the early hours of the morning. Faye was cute, young, and most importantly, legal. He needed a good rebound fuck to get back into the swing of things.

This yearning for Jeanne had carried on far too long. Sure, he could go out to a bar and pick up another twenty-something with less effort, but with three days of vacation time left and nothing else to occupy his time it would make his efforts all the more rewarding. She could turn him down if she wanted. He was sure she wouldn't though. It was all a game and round one would begin soon. Brunch sounded good to him.

* * *

><p>In fifteen minutes Tony was headed over to ask Faye to join him. He knocked and Gregg eventually answered. "Hi Tony!" The man said jovially. "Long time no see, what can I do for you?"<p>

"I'm looking for Faye." Tony explained to the old man.

"I don't know a Faye," Gregg looked at him with confusion on his face. "Only young lady that lives here is my girl, Gracie." He called out to her to come to the door.

Faye magically appeared, saying a quick hello to Tony and smiling at Gregg. "Thanks, Gregg." She turned back to Tony and once Gregg was out of earshot said, "He thinks I'm his daughter, Gracie."

"I figured," Tony felt bad for the man. It was obvious what was going on. They were using a senile old man to make it in their new home town. It made him feel even less bad about using Faye. She and her mother would get along well with his father, the great con-man he is. Faye's name should have been Bonnie.

"I'm sorry I wasn't very personable this morning. Let me make it up to you by taking you out to eat and thank you for returning the shoes. I would be honored to have such a lovely young lady in my presence."

Faye smiled, "That's really nice of you, but-"

Tony cut her off and held up his hands, "Okay, I didn't want to have to say it, but I really just don't want to eat another meal alone."

Faye hesitated momentarily, but was soon seated in the passenger seat of the brand new Camaro. It was the most expensive thing she had ever touched. Tony whipped around the corner and out of the complex. "Fun, huh?" Tony nodded his head vigorously and smiled at her. Faye just smiled back and clung to the door with one hand and the seat with the other.

"Where are we going?"

"A little place downtown, called Fiovara's."

"I've never been." Faye replied stating the obvious.

"So where'd you move from?

"Baltimore."

"Ohh, really? I used to work in Baltimore. What part?"

"Not the good part," she said quietly looking out the window. "Where did you work in Baltimore?"

"Uh, Baltimore P.D." So he was a cop.

"Where now?"

"NCIS. That stands for Navy Criminal Investigative Service." The rest of the ride was spent with Faye listening to Tony talk about being an NCIS Agent. She listened intently. As they pulled up to the valet parking outside the restaurant Tony paused for a moment to hand the young man the keys to the car and tell him to have fun. She was a bit on edge after it was confirmed he was a cop and more so now that she knew he was a federal agent. She was on her best behavior. Secrets couldn't slip.

Tony took Faye by the arm, finishing telling her about his work. The blonde hostess caught his attention and he filed her away as a possible conquest. She smiled at him mischievously when handing him his menu which Faye didn't miss. She shouldn't be as annoyed as she was over it. This wasn't a date. Or was it supposed to be? Even more obnoxious was seeing Tony watch her walk away, his eyes trained on her swaying apple bottom. The waiter appeared with coffee and Tony ordered a mimosa for himself.

Tony sat forward and observed Faye as she peered at the menu; one elbow on the table, his chin resting on his fist. She was carefully reading the item descriptions; eyebrows raised now and then, back to looking content with an option, then cringing, back to raised brows. She looked up at him finally realizing that he was watching her. "What do you think?" Tony waited for her reply.

"It's really expensive."

"That's okay.

"I just don't feel right letting you spend so much on me. I mean, 25 dollars for an omelet? That's a steep price for something I could have made us at home for less than two bucks." Tony just stared at her. He was confused by her comment, but recovered quickly.

"I think it's all part of the experience. Live it up a little and order whatever you want."

"Okay," she said. She debated what to order. If she ordered too little he might think she wasn't enjoying herself, but if she ordered too much food, he might think she was gluttonous and when she inevitably couldn't finish it all he'd think she didn't like it anyway.

They ordered and sat in silence for a minute before Faye excused herself to the ladies room. She surveyed the occupants of the restaurant as she walked to the back of the restaurant. Most of the people there looked like they spent every Saturday morning doing this. She couldn't imagine. She'd rather be outdoors.

Tony finished fixing his coffee, gathering his thoughts and reformulating a plan to get this gorgeous woman in bed with him. He had misjudged her there for a minute.

Faye looked at her reflection in the mirror and fixed a smudge of mascara. She weaved her way back through the tables and ducked to avoid a waitress with a tray full of food. She felt like everyone was watching her, wondering what the hell a little tramp like her was doing in a nice establishment like such, with a man like Tony. Would they think she was his little sister or his little secret?

Tony was the first to break the silence when she returned. "So I've told you something about myself and now it's your turn to tell me something about you."

Faye looked at Tony and then away once again. "Well, we just moved here but, you know that already. I'm looking for a job at a coffee shop now. I worked at a little place in Baltimore, even got employee of the month once," She joked and trailed off, bitting her lip. "There's not much to tell."

Or there wasn't much she wanted to tell, Tony thought. "School? I went to Ohio State for Physical Education, what about you?"

"How did you go from majoring in Phys. Ed to working as a cop and then at NCIS?" Faye asked. She was genuinely interested and Tony liked that. Some women seemed to pretend to listen to his long rambling, occasionally nodding, feigning interest.

Tony hedged, "I asked you about your school first."

"Your's is more interesting." He noted her look of apprehension as she looked at her hands.

Tony chuckled, "If I tell you my story will you _finally_ tell me where you went to school?"

Faye looked at him for a moment and then replied, "Maybe." He liked her soft voice, imagining it going husky in bed. Chuckling at her again, Tony launched into his story.

"That was the year I broke my leg playing football," he was saying when their food arrived but Tony continued with his story. Faye had ordered a vegetarian omelet and a parfait while Tony had ordered an omelet that came with a slice of roast. "How can you eat just nuts and twigs?" Tony joked, pausing from his story and pointing at the granola-topped parfait. Faye just smiled at him and rolled her eyes. "You know, usually when women roll their eyes it's really damn obnoxious, but you do it so lightheartedly that it's kind of amusing." Faye stared at him blankly which he paid no mind to and continued with his story. "It was a great game. It's not like anything else – being part of a team like that. It even started to snow mid-game." Faye liked how he described his life with all his detail and wit.

"So, after I broke my leg during the game I decided to become a cop. A buddy of mine had just gone to a police academy in Ohio so he managed to get me in as a late entry, I worked at a few different departments and then met Gibbs, my boss at NCIS, when he went undercover. He offered, well, more just told me that I now worked for NCIS after we cleared up that case. I wanted to leave anyway when I found out my partner was a dirty cop." Faye was listening with interest, waiting for more, one elbow on the table and was licking yogurt off her spoon when he looked up at her. He waved his fork at her saying, "Your turn."

Faye just stared into her yogurt and stabbed it lightly with her spoon. He had neglected to explain _why _he became a cop. She bit her lip again and inhaled deeply. She couldn't stall much longer. "I didn't go to college."

Tony just looked at her. "We had a deal. I told you something about me and at length at that."

She still hadn't looked at him and was still fooling with her parfait. "Okay, I went to college," she said, but it came out more like a question.

Tony laughed, "So did you or didn't you go to college?"

Faye opened her mouth to speak, but she didn't know where to start. It all seemed very trivial to her. How could she tell him that there was really nothing to tell and have him believe her? Or better yet, realize she was dull and small. She almost wanted his interest in her to stop completely.

"It's not that I don't want to go to college," she began.

"You can't afford it?" Tony interrupted.

"Well, that's certainly one problem. But, I never finished high school. I dropped out when I was sixteen. I know, really stupid, huh? Go to school all those years only to drop out with just two years left."

"Why'd you drop out if you wanted to go to college?" The waitress came and refilled their coffee and picked up their plates. The waitress lingered as if to hope to catch some of the conversation. When she left, Faye gave Tony a weak smile.

"I didn't want to go to college at the time. I had a lot going on and my mom left me home alone a lot so no one made me attend class on a regular basis. I missed school, fell behind and I was already failing, so I just dropped out and got a job instead."

"You can still go back to school. Take the G.E.D." Faye gave him an even weaker smile than before and he knew it was time to change the subject. He knew what it felt like to be neglected by your only parent. It was easy to tell someone what they should do as if it's as easy as merely saying it. He was slowly beginning to feel guilty. To think, all the boarding schools and summer camps he'd been forced to attend could possibly have been counted as a blessing. He just wanted to cheer her up now. "Where to now?" "You like gardening. There's a nice botanical garden near here."

"Really?" He saw her eyes light up for the first time.

"Yup," he spoke matter-of-factually.

"Can we go?" She was looking at him shyly.

"Why not?" Tony watched the girl's hand snake out to pick up her mug of coffee. Her tiny wrists looked they weren't capable of supporting the full weight of the mug, but they did.

As he signed the check Faye wondered what she would owe him after an eighty-five dollar breakfast. "Thank you for brunch," Faye really did look appreciative.

Tony smiled, "Thank you for the company," he said as he took her by the arm, making a point to ignore the blonde hostess on the way out. "After you," he held the door while he scooted her out ahead of him, placing one hand at the small of her back. He felt her press into his hand.

* * *

><p>So what do you think? Shall I continue?<p> 


	3. Chapter 3

Thank you to anyone who has read or reviewed! _ Warning for mentions of child abuse in this chapter._**  
><strong>

**.:. 3.:.**

Tony handed the valet a wad of cash and then they zipped off in his car. She had to admit that he was very charming. She hadn't had such a nice time in a long while and she liked the kind of attention he gave her. It became clear to her that Tony really just wanted someone to listen to him. Her docile manner fit that and she was content to hear him talk about himself or tell an anecdote. As a rule she was the one doing the entertaining. She would struggle to carry the conversation while physically holding a man's attention, but this time she was allowed to sit back and feel at ease while she enjoyed the company.

Tony's light and grazing touches quieted her fears unlike she was used to. She'd only had two boyfriends and was fairly inexperienced with men on the basis of conversation and flirtation. However, sexually, she knew just how and what to do to give a man what he wanted. She knew how to use her eyes, her hands, her tongue. She knew how to move her lithe body. And though her sexual experiences were almost universally unpleasant, she was great at sex. She'd been told many times, otherwise rendering men speechless. Her first experience was when she was three months away from turning 13. Her mother was out trying to scrounge up money and Faye had been left home with her new boyfriend for the night.

"Want to try?" The blonde man asked her as he finished snorting his latest score. She looked up from her homework and shook her head reluctantly. "Come here," he said sternly and she obeyed. She sat on the opposite end of the couch, but he slid over to sit next to her. He ran his hands through her hair and said, "Such a pretty girl. Do the boys at school ever tell you that?" Faye shook her head to say no. "That's too bad," He winked at her, "they really should. Are you sure you don't want to try?"

"No, I don't think so," Faye's quiet voice found the courage to say.

"Try it." His eyes were firm. "It's real fun. Your mama said you're sad. This will help. She said to give you some if you wanted it." He saw her deciphering what he had just said, contemplating. Her mother had said no such thing.

"I don't know."

"It's like candy."

"Mom said it's not for kids. She told me that when I was nine and said to never even touch it. She said it's hers." Faye was nervous around Kirk. He was easy to believe and she began to cave when he took her hand, kindly stroking it with his other hand.

"It's okay. I'm an adult. I know all about what you should and shouldn't do. And this is okay to do." He spoke to her simply so she would understand and hugged her. His own high was hitting him hard now. He took her fully in his arms and began to explain to her how you snort meth. He shoved her face towards the table when she began to cry. "If you want to be difficult I can inject it into you," he was getting angry and he held up a syringe with a needle attached to it. An aggressive streak was coming on although he couldn't feel it. She yelped in anticipation when he poked the uncapped needle towards her, missing and laughing. Her white flag went up and she snorted the drugs. He was right, she couldn't feel her unhappiness. Everything was dulled. He began to touch her.

* * *

><p>They sat on a stone bench in the rose garden of the U.S. Botanical Garden talking about movies. They shared the same habit of falling asleep late at night with the T.V. tuned to the classic movie channel. Tony was pleased to hear how fond she was of old movies. It was nice to be able to spout off a movie reference and not have to worry whether she was going to understand it.<p>

"Why do you like gardening?" He prodded, trying to find out more about her.

Faye sighed, "I don't know. I guess because it's something to do. I used to help my dad trim the trees in our yard when I was a little girl."

Tony interjected, "You're still little."

She smiled, knowing she wasn't really supposed to acknowledge the comment and continued. "He'd lift me up really high an let me get the top branches. It keeps my hands busy in my off time, but I don't really have the space. And my mom likes to sabotage my plants when I misbehave."

"Do you misbehave often?" He winked at her and she playfully rolled her eyes at him.

"In my mother's eyes, yes. I'm always doing something wrong."

"That's what parents are for: driving their children mad."

"I suppose. Is your relationship with your mother as strained as mine?"

"My mom died when I was eight. My father is the one who I have a strained relationship with."

Faye looked at him with empathy, "My father died when I was eleven."

"By the time I was eleven my father and his first ex-wife had sent me away to school and at thirteen they decided that one wasn't far enough away from them," Tony reminisced.

"At thirteen I had tried my mom's drugs for the first time." She almost covered her mouth with her hand, but she stopped herself. "I mean, I'm not on drugs now or anything. I haven't been for a long, long time. Not since I was seventeen, I swear. I wasn't a huge druggie like her or anything."

Faye looked very unsure and childlike then. Tony took a deep breath and then released it. "We all have our vices, Faye." He reached for her hair, brushing it aside. Her head was down, but she was looking up at him from the corner of her eye, through her thick eyelashes.

"How old are you? If you don't mind me asking," she waited for a response.

"Older than you."

"Come on," she pleaded.

"Thirty-five." He waited for her to laugh or call him old, but she didn't seem to care. She instead nodded and busied herself with the flowers planted next to her. He should have expected that. She was mature for her age, even if he did have fifteen years on her.

He cursed himself for always having to be attracted to the hot, dysfunctional chick. Maybe it was his need to protect things; especially those that seemed incapable of doing it for themselves. Or maybe it was some screwed up psychological thing. He wondered if Ducky would have his own words for it. Something to do with his mother perhaps? This plan to love her and leave her was quickly unraveling. He still wanted her though. The idea of friends with benefits floated into his mind. He was happy to have found a woman he could wrap his mind around. Now, if only he could get her to wrap her legs around him.

* * *

><p>They were wandering around the gardens for the second time, talking about coffee. Faye was saying she only liked her coffee black and milk made it taste disgusting and Tony was rebutting with black coffee tastes like sewage. "I'll make you a bet," Tony said.<p>

"Yeah? What's that?" They were stopped now, facing one another.

"If you can drink a whole coffee with milk, two sugars, and a shot of hazelnut – the way I take mine – I'll give you a big, wet kiss."

"Just a kiss for all that? You're going to have to do better than a kiss," Faye was laughing at him. Her forwardness took Tony by surprise. He hadn't expected that from her. She'd been so quiet and reserved all day. He was suddenly compelled to grab her by the waist and spin her around. "Ahh," she cried as he did just that, taking her around for one turn and setting her back down.

To be blunt, he really wanted to jump her. He had the advantage of height and caught a glimpse down the bust of her dress. Nothing raunchy, just compelling. He was a man, sue him. They talked a while longer and when the conversation lagged he decided to see how far he could go. His hand was at the base of her neck in seconds, twirling her soft hair in his fingers, grazing her neck, back to twirling. Now he knew why she was constantly playing with it. He felt her shiver and that was more gratifying than anything.

His fingers were dancing at the nape of her neck. She felt frozen and she shivered at his touch. Tony didn't give her a bad feeling and she didn't feel forced like she had so many times before with other men. He didn't seem to care that she was a nobody worth nothing. He was charming and gentle, and yet she found herself shooting out of her seat and standing awkwardly before him. He looked down and then back up at her, leaning forward with his hands folded and forearms resting on his thighs. He opened his mouth to speak, looking apologetic, but Faye spoke first wanting to salvage the moment. "Let's walk through the water gardens again," she said taking his hand quietly, tugging on it slightly. His jaw unclenched in relief and he smiled while she was looking, but furrowed his brow when she turned to lead him away from the bench.

It was clear to Tony that Faye was trying hard to please him while still being cautious. She wasn't the most sociable girl he had spent time with. In fact she was probably the least outgoing of them all. But from the few glimpses he had seen, she was feisty and he liked that.

Tony was tying his shoe lace, the slippery new laces coming undone almost immediately again. He grumbled to himself and propped his foot up on a planter while tying a tighter knot. He watched Faye run her fingers over the surface of the water, testing its strength. He had to stop tying his shoe while he watched so he was able to fully focus on her. Faye's delicate fingers dipped under the surface and came back up covered in duckweed. He walked over to her and put his hand on the small of her back as he had done earlier that day. "Shall we, Miss?" he said in Bond-esque fashion, giving her his arm. She smiled at him and shook the tiny plants off her fingers.


	4. Chapter 4

**.:. 4 .:.**

The ride home was quiet. Tony even turned on the radio to fill the void. The old Tony would have been dominating the conversation, but new Tony was often distracted by the sudden waves of regret over Jeanne that came out of the blue. Had he made the right decision? Was it really so wrong of her to ask him to choose? It was something out of one of his damn movies; the way their relationship grew out of a secret mission. Something real and tangible that he'd missed for years. Jeanne had been a pawn in a real life game of chess and he too felt used. Jenny had known his feelings for the Frog's daughter were growing stronger with each meeting. And that was used as an advantage. Their natural chemistry, the things she could make him say yes to with out even trying to persuade him. And for her to find out that her father knew for so long and did not protect her heart.

Home wasn't far and they soon pulled into the space in front of Tony's condo. "It's too bad today has to end," Faye said. 'It's been nice. Thank you." Tony put his mask on once again and gave her a huge, forced smile. He felt guilty that Jeanne could still be hurting and meanwhile he was enjoying Faye's quiet company. It was simple to explain and yet so complicated to work out. Rather than stop and think his first instinct was to dig himself deeper.

"Want to come in?" He cockily grinned and took her hand in his, rubbing the back of her hand with his thumb. He waited for for her response watching her think about it.

"I have an interview later for a job in Anacostia. I should really get ready for it."

"Okay," he smiled at her. She went to open the car door, but he didn't let go of her hand and instead said, "No, no. Hold on." He stepped out if the car and jogged to the passenger side, opening the door for Faye.

"Thank you, again." The young girl smiled shyly and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. It was the first time he noticed her earlobe was torn, the remnant hole of a piercing was a stretched and the tiny gap between the skin torn in a jagged line. He reached for it, but then shrunk back, controling himself.

"How did that happen?" Faye was armed with her usual story.

"I caught my earing on my sweater a few years back and tore it." It was just one more thing that made her ugly. She recovered it slowly with her hair. Some people could wear their scars with confidence. Like a map of their battles and survival. For Faye, they were reminders of her childhood. One that should have been better, safer. She should have gone off to school every Monday morning from the time she was young, came home each night to a meal, on Fridays run home with joy that it was the weekend. Her scars were marks of shame for a little girl who couldn't fight back, couldn't do anything to save herself, had no one to protect her.

Tony cringed, "That must've stung a bit." He pushed her hair away again and she tensed. Tony gave her a gentle, listen here look, "Adds character. I'll walk you to your door." Faye was uncomfortable with his kind words.

"I hope I get the job. I really need it," she spoke as they walked towards Gregg's condo.

"Where is it?"

"Angelo's. It's a cocktail waitress position."

"That's the strip club?" Faye raised her eyebrows at him. "Heh, I only know because it's a pretty seedy place. I don't know that it's a great place to work, Faye." He waved his hand around.

Faye shrugged, "Good money, though."

"Depends on your definition of good money. I've heard stories," Tony let on. "It's not in a great part of town. There are a lot of muggings and cars get stolen constantly."

"I'm going, Tony. I need the money."

"Okay. Be careful." He relented, knowing from Gibbs how when a redhead made up her mind, it was made for good. "Do you need a ride?" He didn't want her to be alone.

"No," she smiled. "I'll be alright."

Good luck," he said as he turned and waved goodbye.

Tony returned to his condo in a flurry of emotions. His guilt racked at him. He cracked his neck and fingers. He stood in the center of his living room, debating at first whether to throw himself into cleaning his place, then lying down unhappily on the sofa. He grabbed the clicker off the table and tuned the television to the classic movie channel. A short that he didn't recognize was playing. He didn't pay much attention to it and found himself rolling on his belly, burying his face into the arm of the sofa and letting out a bottled up roar. After a few minutes of labored breathing he felt his eyes begin to cloud and water and headed to the liquor cabinet for a drink.

Tony was angry. At himself, at Jenny for her disregard, at Jeanne for leaving, at Gibbs for forcing him to take this arduous three week long vacation, which he had tried to enjoy, but failed at miserably.

Wandering along beaches at 3 am was a sad and lonely activity. The waves beating the shore down, over, and over. The glow of a lone ship's lights, floating slowly along an impenetrable horizon and no one but him denting the sand beneath his feet, his presence washing away with each wave. How Franks could live all alone on the sands of Mexico, he didn't know.

* * *

><p>"I'd like you for a dancer more than a waitress, actually." The sharply dressed and well groomed man was telling Faye. "Can you dance? It would be great if you could; I know our clientèle would love you. We haven't had a redhead here in a few years."<p>

"I don't know. I'd be topless, right?"

"Yeah, but you'll make triple what the waitresses do."

"I thank you for the offer, but I couldn't. I'd still like a chance as a waitress though." There was no way a girl with 'whore' carved into her skin could make a killing as a topless dancer. The point was to have a subtle, sexual allure. Not to scream at the patrons, what their hypocritical minds were thinking.

"If it's a moral issue, I can tell you that there's nothing in this life that can't be fixed in the next."

"It's not." She wanted to tell him that was a load as she stifled an eye roll.

The man sat back, beginning to look annoyed. She was wasting his time. "My girls need to be ready and willing to do whatever I need, if we can't have you as a dancer then we won't have you as a waitress."

"I-"

He cut her off, "No. I have plenty of girls who will work."

"No, please. I really need this," she begged.

"I'm sure the other girls do too. You need to leave now, I have another interest."

"Thank you for your time," she whispered as she closed the door behind her.

* * *

><p>Faye pulled the big, black car into its space and put it in park. She sat back in her seat and closed her eyes. The breeze from the open window threatened a summer storm. The cool wind was a welcome break from the hot summer blaze that had dragged on for the past week and a half. Her hands wandered to her hair and she coiled a strand around her finger. She pulled it taut and then let it go, watching the corkscrew curl bounce back at her. She put the interview out of her mind and she leaned her head back against the seat.<p>

"Hey." Faye's head shot up and she gasped. "Sorry, I didn't know you were asleep."

"I wasn't," She said groggily, "just nodding off a little." She looked over at Tony's lively face leaning into her car window, which faded when she didn't return the expression. She smelled booze and beer.

"How'd it go? He asked her as he opened the car door. She swung her legs out, but continued to sit.

Propping her elbow on the steering wheel Faye said, "The guy wanted me to dance. And only dance."

Tony moved to lean against the car and placed his hands in his pockets. "Did you take it?"

"No. Then he dismissed me from his office and called the next girl in."

"Well, don't worry, there will be more opportunities," Tony encourage his disheartened friend. Tiny rain drops dotted the windshield. Faye quickly rolled up the windows and stepped out as the lukewarm rain began to pelt down.

Thunder rolled off in the distance and the two yelled good-bye as they ran for cover towards their own condos. Faye shoved her key into the lock, already soaked, her hands slipped a little, but she managed to get it unlocked as rain water poured off the eves of the house. These condos weren't designed very well, she thought. She tried flinging the door open, but the night chain was on the door and it bounced back at her, nearly hitting her in the face. "Hello?" Faye yelled again hoping her mother would hear her and let her in, "Hello? Mom? Let me in." She rang the bell, knowing Gregg had left to visit a friend and her mother was the only one home, probably passed out. Water was now dripping off the tip of her nose and she gave a small shiver as the breeze blew the rain into a fine mist. The lightening, followed by a loud clap of thunder overhead made her jump.

She leaned against the door waiting to hear the chain slide and the door open, but it didn't. God damn it, Mom," she grumbled.

The bell rang and Tony jogged from his bathroom where he had stripped down to his boxers and was towel drying his hair. He grabbed his jeans on the way and slid them on, still unbuttoned when he opened the door. It was Faye. He tried not to laugh at her and pulled her inside as the lightening flashed again.

"I'm locked out," she shivered.

"You look like a drowned rat," he smiled at the hair sticking to her face, her tight jeans and olive green tank top sticking to her body. She wasn't wearing a bra. He untangled a leaf from her hair. "Where's your key?"

She held them up. "My Mom has the chain on the door and she's not responding to me screaming at her. Can I use your phone?"

He handed it to her, she dialed and waited for a while, hanging up and redialed. Tony handed her a towel which she mopped her hair with while she waited. "She's not answering, not that I really thought she would."

Tony looked at her concerned, "Do you think she's okay?" His brow wrinkled.

"Yeah, she's most certainly fine." The young woman looked flustered and angry.

"Okay." Tony gave her a questioning look.

"She's high or passed out drunk, I'm sure." She tried not to stare at his bare chest. The dark hair covering his firm chest made him look even more masculine. He grabbed the towel from her then, tossing it on top of her head and rapidly tousled her hair through the towel. He pulled it away smiling smugly, and revealing rumple-haired Faye who slowly opened one eye and then the other. The corners of her mouth tugged up in a small smile at his amusement.

Tony waved for her to follow him to his bedroom. He waited as she slipped off her nude colored heels. Her feet looked cold. She obediently followed him, a bit cautiously up the stairs. The walls had pictures of he and friends in simple, black frames on them. One pictured he and a few friends, hot and sweaty after playing basketball in college. Another was of Tony with his arm around a girl with crimson lips and black hair piled up on the top of her head in two small buns. A family portrait crowned the top of the stairs. Young Tony sat in between who she could only assume were his mother and father. The beautiful woman was smiling but her eyes were sad. The man's face was plastered with a cheesy grin. She thought Tony wore that grin all too well.

Faye waited in the doorway as Tony pulled a blue t-shirt with dark bands around the sleeves and neckline from the already opened closet and pulled it over his head. "You can stay here a while until she uh, comes down." He looked at her curiously and said, "Make yourself at home. You can come in." He handed her a large t-shirt. "I'd give you a pair of boxer shorts too, but I'm pretty sure they'd fall right off."

"That's alright. This will be like a dress on me anyway," she said as she motioned at the shirt.

"Oh, well, I'll leave you to it then." He lingered in the doorway as she rummaged through her bag and glanced back at him before gliding on her tippy toes to the bathroom.

* * *

><p>"Sorry about the mess," Tony apologized while tidying up the coffee table that sat in front of Faye. She curled into the corner of the sofa while Tony carried a few coffee cups to the kitchen sink. She cringed as she sank further into the uncomfortable leather. "You were right," Tony laughed. "That is like a dress on you. You're like I little midget." The leather stuck to her still slightly damp skin. The rain had soaked her through. "How tall are you anyway? I'm gonna guess," he paused, thinking, "5'4''"<p>

"You're good. 5'3''," she corrected.

"Same thing, you want a beer?" He looked at her thin, bare legs. His eyes traveled up to her knees and then her lower thighs. He couldn't help but wonder what she wore for panties.

"Sure. Beer is good." She felt his eyes on her. She was sure he found their current situation very amusing.

He turned back to her quickly, putting one hand behind his head he ruffled and then smoothed his hair. "Listen, I'm not looking for a relationship right now," he said real serious. She looked at him blankly for a moment and her eyes darted around the room. He suddenly felt silly, maybe he'd read too much into the events of the day.

"Me neither," she finally spoke.

"Friends?"

"Friends," she nodded in return. His face was still serious when he returned, two beers hidden behind his back. "Pick one." She pointed to his right, he handed it to her and said, "Hope you like dark beer."

"I do," She said as Tony sat next to her and reached for the remote.

Tony threw a take out menu at Faye. It fluttered to the seat next to her. It was six P.M. and six beers later for each of them. They had decided on delivery after a long debate whether Faye should cook dinner. Their choice was made after Faye briefly surveyed his pantry. 'There's nothing but crap and Spaghetti-o's in here', she'd said cringing. There was still no answer from her mother and Faye couldn't bother to be worried. She was content at Tony's. The storm was still ravaging the outside.

"I'm thinking a little Vincent Price," Tony said as he thumbed through his collection. Faye came to stand next to him. Her beer bottle made a glugging noise as she took a long drink. "Your clothes are probably dry by now."

She looked at him, bolder now that she had a few in her. "I'm comfortable," she smirked. Tony grinned at the spark a few beers gave her and leaned against the book case which held his movie collection with his arms out in front of him, supporting himself. A movie caught her eye and she slipped under his arm and between he and bookcase to grab it. "This one?" She pulled out a movie and held it up, turning to face him. His arms were still on either side of her at shoulder level. He was staring at her, not paying any mind to the title of the movie. The alcohol was clouding his judgment as he had enjoyed a few shots while Faye had been looking the items in his pantry.

He seized the excuse and pressed his body against hers. "You're cold," he said a bit surprised. "Maybe I could warm you up."

"I thought we're going to be just friends."

Tony leaned in and nuzzled his face into her hair. "Good friends," he asked as she felt him smile into her neck. He felt her drop and then she was standing behind him smiling. She held up the movie once again and it was then that he noticed she was actually holding two, but the one on top was _Lusty Maids IV_. His mouth dropped and she couldn't hold back her laughter any longer. His stunned face read shock and horror. She walked back to the case and put it back, patting the spot, and handing him the one she actually wanted to watch on her way to the sofa.

"You shouldn't do that to a guy," he laughed awkwardly. "When a woman finds a guy's porno collection she usually doesn't find it that amusing."

Tony was choking down a piece of General Tso's tofu while the movie blared in the background. "Oh, it is not that bad!" Faye exclaimed to Tony. "It's good!"

"Yeah, no," he paused to swallow, "I, uh, I like it," He tried to be nice.

"Yeah, right." Faye fought the urge to poke him with a chopstick. She could be better at controlling herself than him.

"You sure you don't want any beef?" Tony dangled a length of beef in garlic sauce in front of her and she leaned away.

The second movie of the night – another Vincent Price flick, House on Haunted Hill - ended shortly after midnight and Faye, still in Tony's tee ran over to her condo to see if she could get in, which she couldn't. She returned to Tony who had waited, barefooted in his doorway, cool cement underfoot. The rain had stopped, but the wet grass threatened to stick to his feet. He knew Faye didn't mind if the fresh cut grass, mowed the day before, stuck to her skin but he couldn't stand it. She shook her head at him, "No luck. The light is on now though, so at least there are signs of life."

"Where's Gregg?"

"He left to go on a several day long fishing trip with his friend in Shenandoah."

"He really thinks you're Gracie, huh?"

"Yeah. It's kind of sad." She backtracked then and walked toward the bushes. He couldn't see what she was doing from where he was. When she returned, her hands were gently clasped together. She opened them and a firefly blinked his little lantern at Tony. He stared at the little insect in Faye's hand, who stared almost in wonder at it. He admired her ability to take in the little things in life and enjoy them. To smell the rose as they say. Like that the bug was gone. He blinked a few feet away and then several more until he mingled with the others and was indistinguishable from the rest.

Back inside, Tony poured a nightcap for the both of them. Handing her the drink, like they really needed more alcohol, they sat on the sofa and Faye pulled her knees under the hem of the shirt. By now she was vulnerably leaning up against Tony's arm. He pulled her to him, but he didn't make a move. Shortly thereafter she was falling asleep as an infomercial for a blender played quietly in the background. He carefully removed the glass from her hand to keep her from spilling and quietly pulled a blanket off the floor to protect them from the air conditioned chill. The last thing he remembered thinking before he fell asleep was him, second guessing himself about how long he'd know this girl. It felt like so much longer. His drunk thoughts floated around in his head as his eyes closed. She fit into the crook of his arm nicely. It was like that had always been her place. She'd be a good friend.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Hopefully I'm not losing anyone's interest. I know it may be a little slow to start, but there will be more action later on. I have a lot of this story already written, but I'm still deciding where I want to go with it. I'd be interested to know where people would like to see it go...**


	5. Chapter 5

**Oh boy, **where to start? I feel in a way I've abandoned this story a bit, but I've been incredibly busy and with out a computer for a long time. Not to mention I lost everything on my last computer due to it tumbling down the stairs! I just got up the motivation recently to start rewriting what I lost. So this is my first update in forever and it feels a little weird, but I hope everyone enjoys it. I also hope to get back on track with updates soon, but I don't want to promise them at a certain time or on certain days, especially since I will be traveling over the next few weeks for work and won't have much time or energy since I plan on working 10+ hour days (oh joy). Anyway, for everyone who has stuck around, thank you! Here's chapter five.

**.:. 5 .:.**

Faye awoke around three A.M. with her head on Tony's lap, with one of his hands under her head and the other on her rib cage. His head was tipped back and his gentle snoring kept her awake. Tony had turned the T.V. off and the only other sound in the house was the humming of the air conditioner. She watched the time on the cable box change with each minute; 3:09, 3:10, 3:11. At 3:12 she silently rolled out of his grasp and trotted to the kitchen for a glass of water. Her mind was muddled and dizzy. She was still slightly drunk. The cool, tiled kitchen floor sent tiny shock waves through her feet as she stepped from the carpet to the linoleum tile.

Tony thought he heard the front door close. He was constantly aware of every little sound that went on while he slept. It was part blessing and part curse. He sat up trying to clear the sleep out of his head, Faye was gone, but after closer inspection her shoes and purse were still by the door. The thought of her sneaking off had bothered him and it lifted his spirits to know she hadn't left him. He got up, noticing the light at the front door was turned on.

He found Faye sitting out on the front step, smoking a cigarette; the hot, cherry red tip glowed bright in the dim lighting of the patio. She looked back at him when he opened the door and then seemingly returned to her own thoughts.

He came to sit next to her. She looked up at him then and he pulled her to him even though it was still warm and humid out. The girl let him hold her though she wasn't sure if she should let him. She either allowed him take comfort in her presence, whatever it was he was getting out of it, like her heart wanted. Or refused his attention and forced him to keep his distance like her brain wanted him to. Her muscles itched with the need to move away from his tight embrace, but it was much too friendly to merit denying him. She selfishly wanted that attentive doting. His hands making contact with her often, testing where she stood with things.

"I'll get rid of this," Faye whispered in regard to her cigarette, seeing Tony squint as a thread of smoke wafted into his eyes. However, before she could stamp out the ember, Tony took it from her and inhaled a long, confident drag. Smoke spewed from his mouth, coughing wildly. He handed it back to her noting the surprise on her face.

Now embarrassed he said, "It's been a while."

"How long is a 'while'?" Faye asked and waited for his response which didn't come immediately, but only because he seemed to be stifling a coughing spell. He wrapped his arms around her tighter yet.

"About fifteen years," he laughed. "I never actually smoked regularly. Just occasionally on a night out with the guys. I was usually wasted." She smiled at him and offered him another drag.

"No, I'm good," he shook his head and waved it away, trying to bite her when she giggled at him. He was playful and that was attractive to the girl.

They sat outside a while longer. Her cigarette waning, "Aren't you tired?" Tony asked Faye. She took it as a hint and nodded yes as she slowly French inhaled one last time. Tony watched the smoke escape her mouth and wind its way into her nose. She stubbed the cigarette out and leaned back into his embrace while exhaling a mouth-full of smoke.

She smelled good. "Come on," he said. He didn't mind the tobacco smell that filled his nostrils, making him feel a little more awake than he really was. The deep, dark, herbal scent that leaked from her cigarette case reminded him of his mother's cigarettes that were always present on the small mahogany side table next to the perfectly upholstered cream loveseat in their sitting room at the Hampton summer home. He almost set that loveseat on fire once, playing with her Zippo under the couch. His mother never noticed the singed fringe that brushed the floor. His father however, noticed when he went to sell the antique after his mother died and Tony received a good spanking for that one.

* * *

><p>Faye waited at the bedroom door for the second time, waiting for an invitation. The bed wasn't made, but Tony spent a minute clearing items from it. She debated turning around and heading back to the couch, but before she could make her decision he was making his way to her from across the room.<p>

He took her hands and pulled her towards the bed, walking backwards. "Is this okay? You can have the guest room if you want it instead."

"Yeah," she said and nodded. She was growing tired now. She didn't know what 'this' was. The huge, king bed sat high off the ground. Before she could protest he had grabbed her around her waist and under her ass, hoisting her up onto the bed and tossing her to the right hand side. He laughed at her surprise and climbed in next to her before he pulled the lightweight sheet over them.

"Goodnight, beautiful," he said as he reached for the light.

Beautiful... that was a crazy notion, she thought. No one had called her that in a long time. And even when they did they hadn't said it with the conviction Tony had just used. "Goodnight," she said quietly. The room went pitch black. She laid on her back, in the dark, her pupils dilated trying to adjust. The warm glow of a street lights in the complex gradually lit the room slightly, leaking through the blinds. She felt Tony roll over with his back to her.

The frustration welled inside her, a tear rolled from the corner of her eye, past her cheek, and behind her ear. Tear after tear wet the pillow and she rolled on her side to get away from the uncomfortable dampness. She'd have to deny herself any sort of gratification. It would save her from more hurting later if she detached emotionally. She wouldn't let herself have any hope that this could turn out as a good thing. Faye tried to steady her ragged breaths. She didn't even have a clue how long she and her mother would be here. Her mother made decisions at the drop of a hat and independence was a long ways away for her. In her right mind she couldn't expect her mother would be able to take care of herself either. She could still see the doorway to the bathroom through her teary eyes and moved to get up.

Tony's voice tore through the silent room, making her stiffen out of surprise. "Where are you going?" He whispered his question as if he might wake some unknown force hiding within the room.

"Bathroom," she explained flatly.

"Oh." Tony watched her silhouette round end of the bed and approach the bathroom. "Light's on the right, around the corner."

Tony was having no problem falling asleep, which was why he struggled to stay awake until Faye returned. He didn't know why he was trying as hard as he was to stay awake. He wanted her to feel welcomed, yet really wanted nothing to do with her at the moment. He just wanted to sleep it off. He felt horrible. His time away had been less than cathartic for him and his gut twisted again with the guilt that he had a companion in his bed tonight. He hoped Jeanne had found someone to take comfort in as well. His stomach was rebelling against his drinking and he feared if he moved he would certainly lose the contents of his stomach. What could be more embarrassing than that? Faye seemed to be holding her liquor better than he was, barring the fact that she hadn't had three extra shots. He could see a handful of aspirin and a DiNozzo Defibrillator in his future.

Faye studied her reflection in the bathroom mirror. Her mascara had created dark semi circles around her eyes. She splashed a little lukewarm water to clear it away. It didn't help that she had real dark circles around her eyes. She flushed the toilet, even though she hadn't used it and returned to her reflection, chewing at her bottom lip. She didn't want to admit that she recognized the dead quality her eyes still held. Even with each change of the calendar year not much had healed. Her scars, now white instead of the newly healed pink flesh that had glared so brightly back at her for a year and a half after the attack, had healed. The emotional pain was still as glaringly present though. Her scars still physically hurt sometimes. Sometimes she wished her two attackers had killed her.

After a long bought of emotional anorexia it was all hitting her again, like broken bones still ache after they had been repaired. Faye placed her lips against the back of her hand, feeling like she might puke. She envied that firefly from before. The little thing was so lucky. In no more than a month it would be dead. If she could trade places with it, she would. Maybe it could do more with this life than she ever could.

Maybe if her mother hadn't succeed in regaining custody of her after a judge gave her the gift of attending a rehab center, it wouldn't be like this. Her mother was discovered by police in an alley, slumped over, and after resisting arrest they searched her finding drugs in her bag. Faye had spent a year and a half in a group home for displaced children before her mother was evaluated to be in a better state of mind as well as clean and sober.

The year and a half Faye was separated from her mother were the most confusing days of her life. Everyone would ask her why she was there. Most of the time she ignored their questions, their prodding. Some would offer up their tales of hardship first, thinking it would help her share. They used their pasts as bargaining chips, like they were paying for entertainment. She would tell them she didn't want to know and they would tell her anyway, saying 'your turn' when they finished. She kept to herself for the most part and left having made no friends. As unpleasant as her home life was, she ran into her mother's open arms the day they were reunited. She belonged to her mother then. She was part of her shadow and melded with her as if they were almost the same entity. Of course sobriety didn't last long. Five weeks later she was back at it.

The man Faye spent the day with was a good man. She didn't want to be a burden, she didn't want to take him down in flames along with her, but he could be her out. There was a rapidly growing feeling of anxiety that she wanted out now, she no longer wanted to belong to her mother. Tonight was like so many other nights she'd felt pushed out of her own home and she was done with it all. The draw of freedom and her new friend's company was stronger than she could resist.

Her assumptions had been correct in that Tony was much different from the men she'd been accustomed to. He was what a man should be. He didn't seem like he was acting like himself though, there was something about his strong motivation to seduce her, followed by severe hesitation that glared at her. To say either of them was conflicted would be an understatement. He said they were friends, that neither of them were looking for a relationship, but here she was in his bathroom, getting ready to crawl back into his bed. As far as she was concerned, friends took to separate bedrooms.

Faye had spent too long in the bathroom already. In the light shed by the bathroom she could see Tony's sleeping face. He looked tortured. She had hoped he would still be awake and that she could repay him for his kindness. Her mother was right, simply accepting invitations for brunch and dinner wouldn't keep him content for long. He'd already pushed the envelop himself. The subtle hand at her back, leaving from brunch. The energy that had oozed from his body earlier in the evening when he pressed himself against her. She had been hesitant with his arms on either side of her. She was vulnerable, but his contagious smile and soft eyes made her smile, leaving her wishing to retreat inside of him.

Tony stirred when she slipped back into bed, but did not fully wake. She moved as close to his body as possible without touching him. Centimeters away, she could feel his comforting warmth.


	6. Chapter 6

**.: 6 :.**

It was 12 P.M. when Faye woke the next morning. Tony was still snoring, mouth open towards the ceiling, looking a little more relaxed. She slid against his body. His mouth snapped shut and he turned over, an arm and leg pressed over top of her. His head was buried in her neck. She shivered at the sensation of his hot breath and closed her eyes, breathing in his manly scent. The remnants of amber under-notes from his cologne wafted over to her with his movement.

Tony began to wake slightly, he felt the woman's body under his. It took a moment for his brain and mouth to work in unison when he kissed her neck and smiled in bliss, "Mmm, my love," his words grazed her neck. The body moaned and repositioned, her ass against his lower half. "Oh Jeanne," he moaned. With his eyes still closed all he felt was the body buck against him and shoot off the mattress.

He found Faye downstairs, sitting in one of his armchairs. She was topless, in her underwear, violently trying to dress with her back to him. Her hip bones stuck out and he watched as her skin pull tight over her ribs as she bent to retrieve her jeans. The knots of her spine jutted out, disappearing when she stood back up.

Her head flipped back at him when she heard his feet on the stairs. Her jeans were halfway on when he stopped, standing a few feet away, she yanked them the rest of the way on. She was still topless. He touched her shoulder, trying to calm her. "Oh, Faye that wasn't," he began but she cut in, her voice was shaky. His hand slipped away from her silky, freckle dusted shoulder. She grabbed her tank top and pulled it to her to keep herself covered and said, "Don't. Please."

Tony's face was plastered with hurt when she spoke again. "Who is she? Is she your girlfriend? Your wife? Please tell me she isn't your wife for God's sake." Tony watched as her cheeks flushed and her eyes filled with tears of embarrassment. He'd never been in this situation before. As much as he knew it would upset her, he wished he was able to say she was his girlfriend and maybe even wife. In reality that wasn't the case. "You said that you didn't want a relationship. So you just wanted to fuck me? Is that it? Because that's fine," She finished, her voice caught when he didn't say anything. "But I'm not a whore."

She turned away and slipped her tank top on. Her heels were next. She grabbed her purse and Tony stared at the t-shirt she had worn which was now rumpled in a pile on the floor. "No, Faye. Come on," he said firmly, grabbing her at the front door. He pulled Faye close and pressed her into the wall next to the exit. He could sense her hesitation as she summed up the situation and glanced towards the door. "Don't go. Let me explain it to you."

She ran through a hundred scenarios in her head and none of them looked good. She turned her head away when he brushed her hair to the side and when he went to wipe her tears it was too much to bear. She pulled away and held on to the door knob as Tony pulled her back. "I don't want you to leave," he begged and took her face in his hands, forcing her to look at him. She tried to avoid eye contact as best possible and watched his mouth move instead.

"I can't tell you much. It was part of my job, a mission and the consequences of which were, for me, falling in love with someone, my heart breaking and for her, ruining her entire life and everything she'd worked for. It was never supposed to be real. But it was and I loved her and I was helpless to stop it. I don't think you understand how anti-commitment I really am. I miss her. But I have to let that go. I realized that in Miami, but it's hard, really hard. I'm barely getting by on what I have." She felt insignificant then.

* * *

><p>Tony's honesty had been blinding. It made Faye want to tell him something that had hurt her. But she wasn't that strong. The two parted ways the day before, Faye telling Tony she understood, even though she didn't understand how it had all happened, who Jeanne was. She could still see the pain and regret in his eyes. She'd never been that important to someone. She found herself feeling jealous of Jeanne, of someone who she didn't even know. She also found herself resenting her for leaving Tony alone.<p>

* * *

><p>Tony was surprised when he heard a quiet knocking at his front door. He knew who it was and hadn't expected her to return so soon. "We both want something out of one another," she spoke softly before he had the chance to say hi. He nodded, knowing that was true and pulled her inside, out of the summer heat. "I won't stay long, I know you said this is your last day of vacation." She was wearing a pretty, flowing skirt that contrasted well with the casual t-shirt she was wearing as well. Tony felt like a schmuck in his sweats and undershirt. She didn't say anything else and simply joined him on the sofa in front of the T.V.<p>

Reruns of Kolchak were on. "I'm sorry about yesterday," he spoke. Faye gave him a gentle smile and nodded.

Silence, once again. "I should probably go. I just wanted," She paused, wishing she'd thought through what she wanted to say to him beforehand. "I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for leaving so abruptly yesterday. It was just all a little weird and I got scared." Faye didn't want to take up too much of his time. "So anyway, my point is that I'd still love to be friends, or whatever." She cringed inwardly at herself. The man nodded in understanding. His features were tinged with dread today, she noticed.

Tony finished his beer and decided it was time to switch to something a little harder than beer. He was still on vacation, he could make an exception. "You know, I just want to get drunk one more time before I have to go back to my everyday life. Have a drink with me before you go." She didn't protest although she wasn't sure she felt like drinking.

"What are you thinking? He asked a quiet Faye, his beer bottle replaced by a glass of bourbon, straight, three fingers.

Faye took the glass from him and took a good drink of it. Handing it back she answered, "I'm having fun."

Tony laughed, "You just got here. We're just sitting, drinking, and watching reruns of Kolchak: The Night Stalker. He took a sip of the drink.

"I know. What are you thinking?"

He handed her the drink, thinking of what to say. Again, she took a sip and handed it back. "I am thinking... you're odd one."

"Is that a bad thing or a good thing?" She looked down and twisted the hem of her skirt before she occupied her hands with fixing it.

Tony thought, "Good," he said, "Interesting." He refilled the glass and immediately drank. There was nothing subtle about him stretching his arm out along the back of the sofa behind the redhead. His fingers soon twirled the ends of her long locks. He was feeling good again. Faye knew it and shifted, slightly uncomfortable so she casually grabbed the bottle of booze and drank straight from it.

"Classy," he smirked at her. Between the two of them they had already polished off a good bit of bourbon.

She leaned in and narrowed her eyes, one corned of he mouth pulled up just little. "A gentleman would have offered a lady a glass."

"Hah hah!" Tony took another drink. "Are you saying I'm not a gentleman, Miss Faye?"

"Miss Faye?" She drank a sip.

"You never told me your last name." He drank and minutes passed.

"You never told me yours." She drank, slowly relaxing.

"DiNozzo." He drank. She smiled. "What? You think my name is funny?"

She just shook her head. "Every thing's funny." She went to take another sip from the bottle but Tony grabbed it from her, re-filling his glass, and recapping the bottle.

"You're drunk, already," he said. He put the bottle on the floor and she made a sad face.

"Landis."

"Huh?"

"My last name is Landis."

"Oh, Miss Landis, then." Tony wound her hair around his fingers and moved closer to her. The advancement on her made her stiffen, but he didn't notice. She would let him do whatever he wanted anyway.

"You're quite the charmer, you know?" She spoke absentmindedly and he leaned into her, grazing her throat with his lips, and inhaling deeply. Her perfume smelled heavily of flowers and musky vanilla. It was more intoxicating than the liquor. He wanted to get lost in her. "What do you think you're doing?" she asked – her voice was huskier now and she didn't fight him. He set his drink down and his hands snaked their way back into her hair, grasping her long locks and using them to tilt her head back therefore granting himself better access to her throat. His hot breath was on her neck as he caressed her with his tongue. She found her fingers intertwining themselves into his hair.

"Mmm, Babe." The human contact felt great, he thought. He kissed her bourbon infused lips.

The sudden contact surprised Faye, but she was soon kissing back. She liked him. She let like she could trust him. Her head was swimming at the thought of falling for a cop, a fed at that. He was the kind of person he mother had drilled into her to evade and lie to. It made him all the more attractive.

Drinking from the bottle always distorted just how much you've had. It amazed Tony how so little could flood you with more confidence than you could ever need. He held Faye close to him. She felt plain good as his hands ran down her sides. Her eyes flew open as he neared her stomach. He didn't notice her hesitation and roughly pulled her horizontally by her hips. Gorgeous, he thought. They continued to lock lips with his hands back in her thick hair. She was sure it would be knotted and mussed when she looked in the mirror. He was laying half on top of her, careful not to put all his weight on her small frame. His scrambled brain was trying to think of what was appropriate and what wasn't. His logic was if he wanted to do it, he probably shouldn't. So when he wanted to place his hand on her inner thigh, he didn't. And when he wanted to peel her fitted shirt off of her, he didn't do that either.

He concentrated on running his tongue over her bottom lip. A breathy moan escaped from her lips. She pushed against him and sat up, taking the reigns. Tony sat up as well and Faye climbed on top of him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and focused on tenderly licking the patch of skin behind his ear. He groaned as if he were in serious physical pain causing her to pause briefly. She moved over and down a few inches now and then nipping gently until she had to pull at his shirt a bit to expose more flesh. With Tony still on the couch, Faye slid to the floor on her knees.

Tony was poised for what was next, he licked his lips, this was his favorite part.


	7. Chapter 7

_**Warning: this chapter includes adult themes, like violence and sexual assault (not highly graphic), but not everyone may want to read. I don't intend to offend anyone or make light of any situations. Consider yourself warned. (: Thanks to everyone who's reviewed, followed, or favorited!**_

**.:7:.**

Gibbs parked the Charger and stepped out into the humid summer evening, not bothering to roll up the windows. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a middle-aged woman smoking a cigarette. He smiled at Tony's new car as he passed. Turning onto the walkway to his Senior Field Agent's home, he heard the woman and smelled her cigarette behind him, but kept walking. He was about to knock, first turning to give her "the look".

She gave him an equally expressive look right back and said, "I just want to see something," then casually took a long drag off her cigarette, her arms partially folded against her stomach.

Gibbs shook his head and rapped his fist against the door three times.

Faye was prying Tony off of her, telling him that maybe he should get the door. "They'll go away," he said, back to kissing her neck. Three more knocks, then another set of three, and he sat up exasperated by the interruption. He waited to see if another set would follow.

The woman behind Gibbs reached around him and gave the front door five forceful whacks with her palm. He looked at her and shook his head, opening his mouth to say 'what the hell is your problem?'.

Tony's eyes widened at the loud banging and got up to answer it. "Maybe they won't go away," Faye said as she followed him to the door, grabbing her bag on the way, intending to leave before they went any further. She'd lost her confidence and didn't want to know what his reaction would be if he went to take her top off. It would startle him, certainly, maybe it would disgust him. He'd probably be polite about it if I did, but she'd know if he didn't want to touch her anymore.

"Hey! Boss!"

"Mmmhmmm." Gibbs turned again to look at the woman behind him. She raised her eyebrows, "I had a feeling I'd find her here." She looked at her daughter whose face couldn't look more horrified. She only shrugged and turned and left, walking through the bushes to get back home, leaving the three standing in silence.

Tony looked at his messy-haired friend and reached over to smooth it down. "I just thought I'd take my best senior agent out for a steak," Gibbs stared at Tony, "but I see you're busy." He wanted to chuckle at the scenario, but managed to look annoyed at the younger man. His hair had grown out a bit. It suited him, he thought, remembering how his senior field agent wore his hair several years before. Tony was much more carefree back then. He looked a little more rested than the last time he'd seen him, too.

"Actually umm," Faye teetered a little thoroughly embarrassed and still buzzed, "I was just about to leave."

"No, I'd love to get to know one of Tony's friends. You like steak, don't you," Gibbs asked. "You're not one of those vegetarians are you?"

Faye didn't know what to say to the man. Tony broke out in boisterous laughter.

"Funny thing, Gibbs."

"Yeah, Tony? What's that?"

"Well, Boss, she is. She's a vegetarian."

Gibbs shut the door and advanced toward the young man. "Are you drunk, DiNozzo?" He gave him a light head slap.

Faye watched in surprise as Tony sobered up that instant. "No, Boss, never in my life."

"So then, we'll take two cars? I can leave from the restaurant instead of having to drive all the way back here."

"Probably not exactly a good idea, boss." Tony's cockiness faded even more.

"Yeah, I know, DiNozzo. Go change, you sit in back." Jethro took the pretty girl by the arm and began to lead her to his car. "Please, join us. I'm sure we can find you something to eat." Faye smiled at his kind eyes.

"I guess I could. I don't have anywhere to be."

Tony soon took his place in the back seat, "I see you drove the company car here, Boss. Working a case?"

"Not anymore?" Gibbs said simply.

Tony and Jethro stood waiting for a table. Faye had excused herself to the ladies room.

"Look, Boss, I know she's a redhead and she's smokin', but you're not trying to steal her from me, are you? Isn't she a little young for you?"

Head slap number two of the evening.

"I think I could say she's a little young for you too." The two men smiled as Faye returned. She knew they'd been talking about her.

The night passed by slowly. Faye listened while Tony told Jethro about his Miami getaway. She was thankful he changed the subject when Jethro had asked about her schooling, instead bringing up their connection to Baltimore. Gibbs didn't seem that amused by it. Dessert came and Faye lounged over her steaming coffee. The AC in the restaurant made her chilly. Tony was eating cheesecake and Jethro had coffee as well.

"Where do you work, Faye." Jethro waited for her response.

Tony shoved a bite of cheesecake in her face and she took the fork from him, answering Gibbs before taking the bite. "Well, nowhere right now, but I'm looking."

"NCIS is looking for a file clerk in the legal department."

"Oh?" Was he offering her a job? Tony wasn't sure that he wanted her working at NCIS, but why? It could be good for her, he felt better about it than the thought of her working in a sleazy strip club. Jethro looked at Tony and then back to Faye.

"I'll grab an application and leave it for Tony to give to you. If you want it that is."

"Sure. Thank you, Jethro," Faye replied politely. She didn't think she was cut out for that.

* * *

><p>"Are you coming in, Boss? I have beer." Tony gestured toward his condo when they returned.<p>

"Why not?"

"You comin', Faye?" Tony received no response. When they turned to look at the girl she was a little ways away staring at a blue Honda parked next to her car. "Faye."

"No, sorry. Thank you so much for a nice day and Jethro, thank you for dinner. I think one of my Mother's old friends is in town. I should really go." She waved and ran to Gregg's condo, quickly slipping through the door.

Gibbs smiled at Tony who shrugged, "Women."

"She seems like a nice girl," Gibbs said. Tony nodded and grinned.

"Mom, are you here?" Faye yelled out to her mother, frantically and bounded up the stairs and into the kitchen. She was greeted by her nervous mother and her mother's ex.

"Hey there, Pumpkin." The man smirked at her. Donny's brown hair had grown out to his ears since the last time they'd seen him. It made him look even greasier. He hadn't shaved in at least a week.

"Where's Gregg," Faye asked.

Her mother looked at the bedroom door down the hall and told her Gregg took a sleeping pill and was sound asleep. Donny turned back to her mother. "Okay, now. I want my money. You either owe me that or drugs." He smacked her arm for effect.

"I-I have a hundred-dollar bill right here." She grabbed her purse that was sitting on the counter behind them and pulled out a twenty instead. She was shaky. If she had any drugs they'd long passed through her system. Donny just shook his head. His fuse was about to blow. "Wait, I have this." She handed him a small packet of coke, all gone except for the slightest amount of dust in one corner of the little plastic baggie.

"You gotta kidding me." He rubbed his forehead.

"Here," Faye spoke quietly, cautiously handing Donny all the cash she had which was thirty-four dollars.

"Come on now, you know that's not enough. She owes me at least four hundred. Probably six." You stupid bitch, he thought.

"We'll send it to you."

"Hey, Pumpkin why don't you shut the fuck up?" Faye looked down.

"Deb, you better fucking go to an ATM right now and get me my fucking money or I'm gonna fuck you up so bad you won't know which way is up."

"I have maybe," Faye's mother paused, thinking. "Maybe I have two hundred in the bank."

Donny contemplated for a minute. Drinking what was left of a beer. "Go get it," he decided. "Meanwhile me and Faye will work out our own little plan."

"Mom..." Her eyes went wide and she shook her head 'no'. Donny walked over to Faye and cupped her ass under her skirt. The workings of a beer belly grazed her side.

"Deb, what'da ya think your daughter's worth?"

Her mother stared her. She couldn't think clearly. She'd just given the last of her drug money away. "I-" She faltered, pacing. "I don't know."

"Mom no, please, I don't want to." Donny wasn't a gentle man.

"Fucking shut up." Donny grabbed her by the back of the neck, pushing her forward and pulling her back to him in a split second. Her head spun and neck ached. "I'd say one hundred."

Deb's head shot up. "That's all?" Faye felt her stomach drop. _That's all?_

"Yeah," he pressed his thumb at the pressure point between her neck and shoulder causing her to fall to her knees in front of him. "Now, go to the ATM, Deb and when you get back I'll be done with her. We'll figure out a plan to make up the rest." He stroked Faye's cheek.

Deb looked at her daughter who had tears falling from her eyes already. She lit a cigarette, worried for her daughter she took he time rooting out her bank card. "It's just this one last time, Faye," she said as if that was meant to comfort her daughter.

"Deb, I'm gonna fuck you up," Donny's voice bellowed.

"Okay. Okay."

Her mother gone, all Faye could do was stare stoney faced ahead. "Unzip it." She wanted to die. "Come on, Pumpkin. Unzip it." The hot kitchen whirled. She lifted a shaking hand and unzipped his fly. Her hand fell. "Take it out."

A sob came from deep inside her. "It's not that bad!" Donny's voice boomed and Faye stifled another sob. Her face turned hard and she gulped, preparing herself. He smelled like sweat and tasted just as vile. She counted the seconds until it was over. He never lasted long, thankfully.

"Oh, fuck. Ahh, don't bite, you little whore." Faye's eyes shut tight. She gagged. She tried not to breathe. "You still have that written on you? Huh, whore?" He pulled out of her mouth. "Answer me."

Her dead eyes opened and she nodded 'yes'.

"Stand up." She was frozen in fear. She couldn't stand. She couldn't run if she wanted to. He wasn't through with her and he should be. "Fine, I'll come to you." He grabbed her hair and pulled her back, causing her to fall on her butt. In one hand he still had her hair and the other reached for her underwear. Panic rose inside her. This was never part of the deal. She scrambled and crocodile twisted, her nails dug into the laminate. Her underwear were at her knees. Then they were at her ankles. One shoe fell off. Donny was grunting just trying to keep her down. He yanked her other shoe off while he ripped her underwear away, and stuffed them in his pocket as he held her up off the floor a few inches by her hair. Her scalp screamed in searing pain.

Faye was in flight mode. There was no fight mode. Donny wasn't the kind of guy you tried to fight off. At 6'5", stocky as hell, Donny stood on the other side of the kitchen island with his head cocked waiting for her to try to run. He'd played basketball. He was ready, tucking himself back in.

Faye crouched down out of sight, ready to run in which ever direction he wasn't coming. She saw him round the corner to her left and bolted. If she could just get to Tony's door. Safe.

Tony and Gibbs talked as they stood at the front of his new car looking at the engine. They each took a swig of their beer and nodded to each other. "Good thing you had insurance, DiNozzo."

"Yeah, but my poor Mustang." Tony winced remembering the explosion.

Faye skipped five steps and hit the bottom landing hard. Her feet absorbed the shock sending a wave of pain up her shins to her knees. She pushed through, opening the door only to have it thrust closed again. He slammed her against the wall. All her breath left her body.

Tony and Jethro looked up at the sound of the door slamming. Tony shrugged at Gibbs. "You should hear her and her mom go back and forth."

"Family," Jethro sighed. "The woman seems like a piece of work."

"No." Donny covered her mouth. "You make this easy." She scratched at him, drawing blood from his forearm, but not phasing him. Her own arm ached from being slammed against the wall. She felt the energy gathering in her thigh muscles and before she knew it her bony knee made contact with his crotch. He tried to hold her there while doubled over in ear-ringing pain. She stood for milliseconds, eyes wide at her own actions. He leaned against the door, getting a punch in before he found the door pushing him away from her.

"Bitch!" Tony and Gibbs whirled around to see Faye tackled to the ground at her doorstep. A man was pinning her to the ground. Her screams sounded like a trapped animal. He was so focused on his prize, he was ready to take her right there on the lawn.

The hundred yards between them disappeared for Tony in mere seconds. He heard Gibbs yell "Hey! Federal Agents!" behind him as the man on top of Faye slapped her hard.

At that Donny shot up. Tony saw the man's belt hanging, unbuckled and felt the anger in him rise. He'd never wished he'd had his side arm so bad. "Tony, I've got him! You get Faye."

Tony was almost past Faye and he slid, slamming to the ground on the dewy grass. She was scrambling to get up, to pull her skirt back down, to cover herself. "I've got you! I've got you!" He yelled at her as she strained against him. "It's me, Tony," he yelled. She finally melted into him, shaking. "Shhhh, shhhh," he repeated again and again.

Movement caught Tony's eye. It was Gibbs minus Faye's attacker. Jethro, out of breath said, "He had a knife." There was a slash in the fabric of his shirt. Blood was beginning to pool. When he saw the horror collect on his agent's face, added, "It's just a flesh wound."

By now an audience had gathered outside their doors after hearing the scuffle. Neighbors stood with covered mouths and audible 'Oh my gods'.


	8. Chapter 8

**.: 8 :.**

Blue lights flashed until twelve A.M. No one on that side of the complex slept soundly that night. Gregg was even awakened from his chemical induced slumber, worried for "Gracie's" safety. Tony took the groggy man by the arm and led him back inside, assuring him that there was nothing to worry about and telling him there was no need to stand watch with the police.

Faye swore she was alright and denied medical attention. Gibbs gave his statement even before going to the hospital for stitches. The adrenaline took care of the pain. The police found no sign of Donny, but armed with his home address and last known work address they promised they'd pass it on to the correct jurisdiction in Baltimore and nab him. An APB had also been issued. A tow truck was loading up the Honda. Faye's mother was nowhere to be found. Faye scanned the area now and then for her mother's familiar face, beginning to wonder if she'd ever actually planned on returning that night, or if she'd been scared off by the presence of the police.

"Can I go home now?" Faye looked at Tony for an answer while Abby, who Gibbs had called to take him to the hospital stood waiting for her boss to finish his statement. She glanced at her father-figure sitting in the passenger seat of the car with the car door open talking to a handsome, young cop. She turned back to look at the pretty young girl with a pained expression.

"I don't think you should stay there alone," Tony kept her there. "You'll stay with me at my place."

Faye 's eyes were dull and lost. "I just want some underwear," she said listlessly. Tony looked to Abby for help.

"Faye, I'll help you get your stuff. I bet Gibbs will be a little while. He's pretty thorough like that." Abby took Faye's hand but the girl stayed put.

"I don't need help." Faye didn't make eye contact, visibly nervous and still shaken.

Abby let go. "Okay," she said softly. She knew what it was like to feel vulnerable.

Tony and Abby watched the girl walk into the house. "She's, like, really fragile Tony." Abby always wore her heart on her sleeve. "And tiny. She's really tiny. I mean yeah she's kinda short, but God, how much could she weigh? Ninety-five pounds? Maybe one hundred?," Do you think that's pushing it? Probably. You're the champ of guessing heights and weights." She took a breath. "What would you say?" Tony stared into space only half listening to Abby's ramblings. "I can't imagine. Well I can. But I can't. And you just met. You like her, huh? I think that's really nice." Abby hugged him. "You have to keep her safe, Tony. Oh, here she comes. Stop talking about her," Abby spit out and Tony glanced sideways at Abby before noticing Gibbs walking their way.

"Last call for medical attention," Tony said, taking Faye's duffel bag from her, surprised by its weight and by the tattered comforter she was also carrying. Faye had packed several important belongings and several changes of clothes including her favorite outfits. It also contained a few movies and books that she held dear and well as her make up bag. Most importantly, a small picture album. She was a pro at quick packing, having left other homes in a hurry before with her mother and had snagged the blanket on her way out, having to backtrack for it.

"I'm fine, really."

"I have a friend at NCIS. He's a medical examiner, great doctor. Would you let me call him and have him check you out?

"I'm just a little bruised. It will heal. I'm so sorry you were hurt, Jethro. "

"Eh," he waved the thought away. "Don't worry. Let's go, Abs." Gibbs turned and gave Faye's shoulder a squeeze. "You're safe with Tony. Ducky is a great Doctor. I'd trust him with my life. Let him check you out. DiNozzo, call him if you need to."

"Thanks, Boss," Tony said. "See you Abs," he added.

Faye merely stood stiffly as Abby gave her one last hug. "I hope we can be friends," she whispered at Faye's shoulder. "Tony is the best. He'll take good care of you, right Tony?"

* * *

><p>Tony led Faye to his building. It was like leading a zombie. She wouldn't look at him. She didn't speak. She stared straight ahead. He half expected her to start chanting "Brains...", in a daze. Once inside he took her to the bathroom and placed her bag by the sink. "Towels are in that closet, I'll grab you another t-shirt." When he returned from his bedroom, she was standing in the exact position she had been when he left. She flinched when his hands flew to her face, but she settled quickly.<p>

"You're sure he didn't hurt you more than you said? I didn't want to make you uncomfortable when you gave your statement, so that's why I stayed with Gibbs. I'm sorry. You know I wasn't ignoring you."

She nodded.

"Okay," he whispered. "Do you need help? Where are you hurt?" He asked as he wet a cloth to wipe a fresh trickle of blood from her lip. "Stop biting your lip."

She shook her head. She was too exhausted to care. "My arm hurts. He punched me in the stomach. Can you help me?" In the light he then noticed her entire upper arm was blotchy blueish-purple and tinged with green. He gently turned her facing away from him and pulled her tight shirt over her head slowly leaving her in her bra. He examined her arm, with his minimal medical knowledge, he didn't see anything serious. He unzipped her skirt in the back, she had put a new pair of underwear on while inside Gregg's condo.

Her legs wobbled beneath her and he held her skirt up for her. "Do you want to sit on the bed?" She nodded and turned slowly towards him, making no eye contact, soon revealing her glaring scars. She braced herself for Tony's reaction. "Shit," he said in surprise and let the skirt go, eliciting a quiet sob from the girl.

Once she was sitting, Tony examined her stomach for a split second before taking the t-shirt draped over his shoulder and carefully dressing her. He handed her the blanket she seemed to hold so dear. Defeat consumed her. She thought this would be a new start. She promised herself that it would be. Tony kicked off his shoes and sat next to her, pulling her to his chest and drew her with him back against the pillows.

"God, Faye. Baby, who did that to you?" Tony was shaking his head. The girl's eyes were tightly shut and her mouth drawn into a hard line. He didn't press the question and instead kissed the top of her head. "You're safe, do you hear me?" He received a nod from her and that was enough for him. He just wanted to keep her responsive.

In her fragility, she began to speak, "It happened when I was sixteen. I slept with someone and my boyfriend took it really bad. I deserved it," she paused and a chill ran though Tony's body. "That's what I am, Tony. It was a big part of why I dropped out of school. I'm nothing and I'll probably never be anything. You shouldn't get mixed up with me. Bad things follow me. Bad people follow me."

Tony made her stop. "Don't say that. Good people don't deserve these sorts of things."

"How do you know I'm good?"

"I just know." He held on her tightly as he began to feel his shirt dampen with her silent tears. "Your ex, he paid for that right," There was a grit in the agent's voice.

"No, he didn't. Neither did his friend who held me down." Tony controlled the anger welling inside of him. He pictured little Faye being held down while they did that to her.

"Why? Why didn't they?"

"It doesn't matter."

"Yes it does."

"Tony, you can't make the entire world a better place."

"That;s not the point. I want to make your world a better place. Hell, I want my world to be a little bit of a better place but I can't seem to do much about that." There was silence for a long time. The two just holding each other trying to find a safety they had both lacked for so long.

"My mother just left me there. With him," Faye broke the bought of silence, something that to let go on for so long was unusual for Tony. "He said he'd let her use me as payment. I know she wasn't in her right mind. She owed him more than half a grand. Sometimes I don't think I mean a thing to her," she rambled.

"Faye, you can't let her do this to you anymore. You don't belong to her. It took me a long time to get out from under my father's thumb, but once I did, I could breathe again."

"I can't just leave her." Faye's voice drained. "No one needs me like she does."

"My father was a bastard after my mother died, he drank every night until he was blind and passed out in his armchair, or at his desk. He rarely used force when he was wasted, he likes to use his words instead and he was always so drunk that he couldn't do much of anything but sit or stumble around. He's good at using words." Tony remembered feeling crippled by his father's harsh words. It was still a struggle to be around him today. "The bigger problem was his anger when he wasn't drunk. He once shoved me into the piano so hard, it cracked three of my ribs." Faye's hand was on Tony's chest. She could feel his rhythmic breathing turn ragged as he talked.

" I'm sorry," she said as she looked up at him, making eye contact briefly before he averted his eyes.

"That's not the point. I don't want sympathy. I don't say these things for that very reason. I'm telling you, one day you're not going to be so lucky. You're going to end up really hurt or worse," Tony's voice was pleading.

"I know. There's only so much I can do with what I have right now though. I have a very small amount of cash saved up."

"Your car is worth a lot. It's probably in perf-," Tony was cut off before he could finish saying that that it was in perfect condition.

"Don't even think about suggesting that I sell my Daddy's car. You'll never see me do that in a million years." Her face was gravely serious and Tony nodded, dropping the subject altogether. He felt a bit embarrassed for even saying it at all. After a while Faye asked quietly, "What was your mother like?"

Tony didn't respond right away. "You don't have to tell me about her if you don't want to," Faye added.

Tony smiled at her, "Just thinking about where to start." He thought about it a moment more, hoping that he wouldn't get choked up. "For one, she was beautiful. I remember all the other mothers in our neighborhood always took tips from her. On hair, and makeup, all that girly stuff. She had this long auburn hair that she'd religiously wear up if we had company, but the moment they were gone, she'd pull out all the clips and wear it down. She did the whole one hundred strokes of the brush at night when she brushed it. When I was really little she'd have me help her count."

Faye smiled, giving Tony the courage to continue, "I think she was so bored with her life sometimes. My father was away so often and after a while most of her friends were too busy with their own families. She'd go into these long episodes, that's what her doctor called it, and she'd drink all day and all night. I'd never see her with out a drink in her hand when she was that way. She was already a pretty heavy drinker before I was born. She liked wine, but moved on to gin. Don't get me wrong, she was never like my father when she drank. And suddenly one day she'd cheer up, get some sort of inspiration from something and we'd be off. We'd go everywhere searching until she found the things that she needed to perfect her vision. My feet would get so tired and I was too big to be carried around anymore, but I never complained. I was just so happy that she wasn't sad anymore."

I grew up in a huge house on Long Island. We ended up with every room in our house being a different theme. There was this ridiculous tribal themed guestroom that she decided to do after she read an article in _National Geographic_, it was over the top. And my room of course, she redid when I was 5. It was one of the first few rooms she did and she was obsessed with Louis XIV style furniture, everything in my room was dark, and heavy, and huge. I didn't complain about that either, but I had nightmares about vampires for months. I slept in the tribal room for a while until I sneaked into out den while my father was watching this movie about cannibals in the jungle, what was it called? Lost Cannibal Word or Last Cannibal World. I can't believe I don't remember."

Faye chuckled a bit. "It sounds like you were a great son to her, Tony," Faye said, afraid that he'd stop telling her about his mother.

"Oh, I was bad a lot too, she yelled at me for things, but I got away with a lot with her. She was my protector when my dad was home. She'd get in between us and tell him I was her baby and that he didn't need to do the punishing. He'd be so mad with her for undermining his authority, he wouldn't speak to her for days on end and she'd drop right back into the depression," Tony sighed. "The doctor appointments started to pick up when I was six, she even kept me out of the first grade when I turned seven, she said she needed her sidekick with her. And in December of that year she was hospitalized for liver failure, she was in the late stages of liver disease, had cirrhosis of the liver. And since it was due to her drinking, she wasn't getting a transplant. She died the next summer. I don't talk about her a whole lot," Tony finished, slight shame in his voice over keeping her memory to himself all these years.

Faye nodded, "I don't talk about my dad a whole lot either. She sounds amazing, Tony."

"She really was," he smiled. "Tell me about your father."

Faye smiled weakly, "He owned a landscaping business. He was so tough and really rugged. He was my mom's world. She was a completely different person when he was alive." Her eyes were already beginning to tear up recalling how much spirit her mother used to have in her. "The three of us were a real family. He worked hard, he came home every night, we ate dinner at the kitchen table, and watched T.V. before bed. He tucked me in every night. On weekends he worked in out yard and I helped. That was our routine."

"That sounds really nice," Tony felt the slightest amount of jealousy towards the girl. When he was young he'd always longed for a tight family unit.

The girl snuggled into the crook of Tony's arm, making him smile. "It was nice," she said. "He decided that he was going to buy a farm when I was eight. I remember the night he told us. He had two pairs of boots for my mom and I sitting on the kitchen floor. My mom went along with it fully. He moved us to the country and we made money selling fruit and vegetables and sometimes hay. He was so good at it. He bought me a pony that year too. Now I know how hard he saved the money to do that, and that he was struggling to bring in money from any of the crops."

"I liked it there. My job was collecting the eggs from the chicken coop. We had this one really mean rooster, we called him Charger, because he'd charge you at any chance he got."

"He sounds sweet," Tony interjected.

Faye chuckled, "I got too close once, I thought I could tame him which was really stupid and he ended up chasing me clear across the farm, pecking at my ankles, until my dad scooped me up. I didn't put two and two together until many years later, but we had chicken for dinner that night."

The look on Tony's face was of pure amusement. Faye playfully smacked his chest, "Hey, I felt bad for that horrible bird once I realized."

"Is that why you're a vegetarian?" Tony smirked at Faye and grabbed her hand.

"No," she paused, "I don't think so."

"How did he die?" Tony asked while he pushed her hair aside and stroked her cheek, trying to comfort her more. He had to know more. This was more than he'd gotten out of her than everything else combined in the past few days.

"He went to the doctor for a routine exam and came home saying the doctor wanted to run a few tests, but that he felt fine. I think he was being strong for us. I think he'd know he was sick for a while but ignored it. I never remembered him ever being sick before then, not even a cold. They diagnosed him with non-Hodgkin lymphoma. They hospitalized him a week later to start treatment, but it had already spread and the doctors give him five months. He died a month later and my mom sold the farm and we moved to Philly so we could be closer to my grandma." The girl bit her lip and held back tears, soon tasting blood. Talking about her father always made her cry. The memory of her in the hospital room saying goodbye always flooded her, begging him not to go, that she'd do anything if he'd stay with her. "Nothing was the same again, it was a real shock to my mother. The only thing she ever, ever say if anyone mentioned it or if I brought it up was 'I can't believe it'. And I've never felt safe since."

"Don't you feel safe now?" Tony asked and he held her tighter.

She smiled at him and a tear trickled down her cheek. She nodded a yes to him.

"We should sleep. It's already two and I have work tomorrow. Don't cry, I hate when beautiful women cry" Faye wiped her tears and laughed awkwardly.

Tony was soon asleep, comfortably resting with his arm behind Faye's head. She drifted off shortly after.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Yay for updates! Are you proud of me? This was one of the chapters that I was most upset about losing when my last computer broke because I had really perfected it, but maybe it was a good thing because I'm even more pleased with the way it turned out the second time around... I know it's a lot of dialogue, hopefully not too much to get though!<br>**_


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